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Nancy Drew: Girl Detective
Nancy Drew: Girl Detective is the second main ''Nancy Drew'' book series, meant to serve as a replacement for the original Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. It was published from 2004 to 2012 by Aladdin books. For the first time, it featured stories in first-person narration, some dramatic changes to the lead characters, a more in-depth look at River Heights and its quirky citizens, and later in the series, mysteries spread into trilogies. Poor reviews and low sales resulted in its cancellation in December 2011, and it was replaced with the Nancy Drew Diaries series. Premise The publisher describes the series in the following way: :Nancy Drew has a new spring in her step. And it's no wonder: We've given her whole world more oomph. In the all-new Nancy Drew, we've enhanced and expanded everything you've loved about Nancy, Bess, and George, and the rest of Nancy's crew. You loved the series before, but with more dimension, you'll love the series even more now! Learn why River Heights is such a hotbed of criminal activity, meet some new key sources of information for Nancy on all her cases, become acquainted with Nancy's new nemesis, and become even closer friends with Bess and George. And that's just the beginning... List of Books SuperMysteries * Where's Nancy? (June 2005) * Once Upon a Crime (June 2006) * Real Fake (July 2007) * Nancy Drew Girl Detective: Ghost Stories ''(August 2008) Super Special Edition * ''Secrets Can Kill / Deadly Intent / Murder On Ice (June 2007; republished from The Nancy Drew Files) Graphic Novels Graphic novels series were released in paperback and hardcover format by Papercutz. Notes * Dr. Craven from the video game Nancy Drew: The Creature of Kapu Cave appears in Global Warning. * The Dana Girls - another book series written using the Carolyn Keene pseudonym - appear in the High School Mystery arc. Characters * Nancy Drew is eighteen years old and lives with her father in River Heights. When Nancy was three years old, her mother died. Nancy is quick-witted, but sometimes forgetful when thinking about a case. Luckily, her friends George and Bess, and her boyfriend Ned Nickerson, are there to help her. Bess tries to get Nancy to wear clothes that Bess likes because she thinks they are fashionable, but Nancy prefers comfort over style. * Carson Drew is Nancy's father, a lawyer who is famous in River Heights. He has a gift for solving difficult crimes, which he passed down to his daughter. He has been a widower since Nancy's mom died when she was three. * George Fayne, her real name being Georgia, is an athletic computer whiz and one of Nancy's best friends. She is a sarcastic pessimistic, who tends to be moody. * Bess Marvin is Nancy's other best friend and George's cousin, though they don't have much in common except their friendship to Nancy. Bess is flirty and, according to Nancy, seems perfect in every way. * Ned Nickerson is Nancy's boyfriend. He sometimes comes along with Nancy on her cases. Ned is in college and tends to be casual. He works for his father's newspaper, River Heights Bugle. * Hannah Gruen has been living with the Drew family ever since Nancy's mother died. Hannah is their housekeeper and is like a member of the family, therefore she is protective of Nancy, sometimes even when she is working on a case. But she trusts Nancy. * Deirdre Shannon is Nancy's arch-enemy and former classmate. Deirdre's grade school nick-name was Dee-Dee. Their dislike for each other began when they were in first grade. Deirdre's father is also an attorney. She has a big crush on Ned Nickerson; even though he is dating Nancy, she will flirt with him. Sometimes, Deirdre tries hard to be as obnoxious as possible. With her black hair, green eyes and pale skin she looks like another Cruella De Vil. * Chief McGinnis is the figure of the law in the series. In the old Nancy Drew stories, he and Nancy had a friendly relationship, but in Girl Detective their relationship is more antagonistic. Nancy beats him to crime scenes and solves mysteries before him, so he is jealous of her success. * Luther Eldridge is an expert on River Heights history and he often helps Nancy on her cases. Nancy likes spending time with Luther because she can learn interesting things from him. When Nancy was in the first grade, his entire family - including his daughter, Nancy's classmate - was killed in a car accident. * Mrs. Mahoney is the wealthiest person in River Heights and the owner of Rackham Industries. Her husband's ancestors were the Rackham Gang. The Rackham Gang was part of the great River Heights Heist and escaped with the money by using the Muskoka River. Mrs. Mahoney's husband is the only thing that makes her related to the Rackham Gang. * Harold Safer is Nancy's neighbor. He owns the town's cheese shop and likes sunsets and Broadway musicals. In the first book, Without a Trace, Harold is accused of smashing a zucchini patch. Nancy and her friends help him prove his innocence. * Charlie Adams is a worker at Carr's Garage. He has an unrequited crush on Nancy, and half of the time does not even charge her. In Pit of Vipers, he is framed for the theft of a snake; Nancy is surprised to find he is a rare snake collector. * Scotty Fayne is George's twelve-year-old annoying brother. He frequently calls her by her real name. * Maggie Marvin is Bess' twelve-year-old sister. Background In the 1990s and early 2000s, sales of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories had began to drop. At a Nancy Drew conference held in early 2005 in New York, a Simon and Schuster representative said that the digests had been selling about 30,000 copies. In order to boost sales, the original series was ended and the Nancy Drew series re-launched. This new incarnation of Nancy Drew is supervised by Bonnie Bryant (Jacobson). The first volume of the new series, Without a Trace, reached the New York Times bestseller list in the Children’s Series category and #113 on USA Today’s Top 150 sellers list. Reception The series received harsh reviews from fans, who mostly criticized changes made to Nancy; these included making Nancy clumsy, absent-minded, and incompetent. The series received even more criticism in trilogy format, in which new complaints were given towards the lack of action, slow pacing, an overuse of bland, unmemorable characters, and the unnecessary spreading of the mysteries into three books. References Category:Book series Category:Girl Detective Category:Girl Detective continuity